Sanctioning Process

For over 100 years the United States Bowling Congress, headquartered in Arlington, Texas has been certifying lanes and sanctioning bowlers. The LIUSBC is one of over 4,000 local associations responsible for implementing the sanctioning and certifying all bowling centers.

The adult sanction fee is $25 per league season ($20 for bowlers only competing in a league that starts prior to 3pm and is bowled Monday through Friday.) Bowlers competing in a short season league (less than 13 weeks) or a once-a-month league, only have to pay an $11 sanction fee. Youth league sanctions cost $10 per child.

The $25 collected is broken down as follows: $13 per sanction is sent to USBC headquarters, $1 is sent to New York State USBC, and $11 is kept by the LIUSBC. The $5-day league discount is absorbed by LIUSBC. The $10 youth sanction is allocated with USBC getting $4 per child and $6 kept by LIUSBC. 100% of the youth sanction money is returned to the kids through scholarships.

THE SANCTIONING PROCESS

LIUSBC puts together and delivers sanction kits to all leagues that were sanctioned the year before. Additional kits are created for new leagues or leagues that want to sanction but haven’t in the past.

The league secretary hands out the sanction cards the first night of league. If the league was sanctioned the previous year the sanction cards are preprinted for each bowler that competed in the league. Blank sanction cards are included in the kits and should be distributed to all new bowlers in the league.

Secretaries have 30 days from the start of the league to collect the sanction cards and fees from their bowlers. All bowlers in the league must fill out a card even if they are sanctioned in another league.

Once the sanction fees and cards are received at the LIUSBC office a team of 3 staff members process each league and bowler. The entire process is overseen by Jackie Delawski who is the LIUSBC Association Manager.

The LIUSBC inputs every bowlers’ information into a program created by USBC called WinLabs. Once the entire league is processed (it can take as long as 30 days) the names of the bowlers are sent to USBC Headquarters.

Once USBC receives the information from LIUSBC they review the league to make sure everyone is sanctioned and if approved the league list is sent to a fulfillment house which prints the sanction cards and mails them directly to each bowler. USBC can take as long as 60 days to send out the sanction cards.

Secretaries are responsible to have every bowler or substitute that joins the league in the middle of the season to fill out a sanction card and pay the fee if not sanctioned in another league. It is recommended secretaries send the LIUSBC the new bowler sanction cards and fees every 30 days.